Last month after fifteen and a half years, we moved. Actually, we downsized to half our original footprint. And it feels great.
We loved our last place. For a decade-and-a-half it was truly our refuge and retreat. That being said, it also owned us. The property had three acres, maple trees, outbuildings, over an acre of lawn to mow and perennial beds to tend to. We were stewards. As my husband says, “You are as busy as the number of motors and engines you need to maintain”.
The move gave us an opportunity to re-evaluate some of the routines and processes that we simply do on autopilot. The last few uncomfortable weeks inspired scrutiny of a number of small details. When I look at the extra boxes in the basement labelled ‘kitchen’ I know the hand mixer is hiding in there. However, other than that, I can’t imagine what I need from those cardboard vessels of ‘stuff’.
The move also gave me an opportunity to purge my office. Over fifteen years of paper has officially been sorted, sifted, shredded and chucked. Maria Kondo is certainly on to something! While it took about a month of evenings to complete the process, it is now done. I blessed it all.
The office was the first room in the new house to be put back together. The choice was between two rooms. After several days of deciding on the best ‘fung shui’, the quiet room facing the treed backyard won. The necessities are all back where they need to be without the excesses.
Turns out I am sentimental both personally and in business. However, there was no reason to be holding on to the package of baking yeast that expired in 1992! If you have been resisting the urge to purge, let me be the voice of experience which confirms, ‘It is worth the effort’.
Timely yours,
Brenda
